I have always been interested in functional objects and have loved working with my hands. Coming from a family of wood and metal fabricators, I’m  intrigued  with making things and the endless possibilities available. I really enjoyed the process of working with metal and it became clear as my chosen media.  Walking the line between art and design and then trying to mix function into both of those is important in my work. In the past before I came to school I worked in fast paced industrial work settings. I worked at the race shop for a year, where I learned how to weld and fabricate various metals. It was at that shop where my appreciation for craft and function flourished. 

I am fascinated by functional artwork. For my junior seminar class I made a four piece body of work of chairs made out of found materials. An important part of this body of work was that I wanted to challenge myself to use only the materials available to me. Throughout this process I was very passionate about creating the chairs and am glad that I chose to use found objects instead of raw materials. It was interesting to plan and produce these pieces because I had to work around the fact that I was limited. The meaning behind this body of  work is that there are opportunities to create things all around us. All it takes is imagination and persistence to reach the end goal. In today’s age in contemporary art I have noticed more artists are using found and recycled materials. I feel that my concept of using the found materials is similar to other artists, however I don’t want to limit myself entirely to found materials. Going forward I plan to use the things I have learned so far and dive into new ideas and techniques I have not explored yet.  

I am in my senior year and plan to graduate in Spring of 2023. After four years of college art and design classes I feel I have learned and had the opportunity to become a better artist and designer. At this point in my last semester here at school I finally have the opportunity to make art that is exactly how I want it to be. I am very happy to have the opportunity to dive into the ideas I have thought about in the past but have not had the chance to tackle.  I am making  a body of work in my last year of school that consists primarily of unique custom knives. I have had a huge interest in knives for years. I am working with a mentor who is a knife maker here in Boone this year. I am doing an internship with him and absorbing as much information as possible. By doing this I will be able to refine and practice what it takes to make a beautiful knife. My goal this last semester is to come up with unique designs that contrast greatly to other knifemakers in the industry. I hope the viewers of my work are intrigued and have many questions about why I make certain decisions in the construction of my pieces. Some ways I make my designs different is using unconventional knife making materials. I have gathered all kinds of textile material, metal scraps, and natural/organic materials that I incorporate into my knife designs. I am working on blade shapes and profiles that differ greatly from the typical knives you see day to day. By the end of this school year I will have a body of work that shows both progression and my interest in custom knife making.